Abstract
Seafloor video surveys were carried out with the ROV Max Rover in the Palmahim Disturbance (PD) area, offshore Israel, in September 2016 during the EUROFLEETS2 SEMSEEP cruise on board the R/V AEGAEO. Preliminary observations of distribution and frequencies of bivalve accumulations show that they are mostly composed by Lucinoma kazani shells. Valves are distributed mainly along the base of authigenic carbonate crusts, in association with bacterial mats and inside inactive chimney-like structures, sometimes associated with crabs and living tubeworms. However, no living molluscs were observed. The relation between distribution of bivalve beds and seepage activity is not straightforward in the PD area. However, the presence of these accumulations and the size of L. kazani, suggest that seepages may have lasted for at least one decade, before its reduction/cessation that induced L. kazani mortality. The presence of few articulated valves of this species indicates that they were alive up to one year before the ROV observations and their different preservation state may imply different seepage phases. This research shows that chemosymbiotic benthic communities may be used as a proxy for better understanding the past dynamics of fluid emissions at the seafloor. However, further quantitative studies are needed to confirm these observations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 104664 |
| Journal | Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography |
| Volume | 171 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:SS contributed to the interpretation, wrote the paper and obtained funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation for shore-based studies that made this research possible.We warmly thank the scientific and technical crew of the R/V AEGAEO who helped during sampling operations. The EUROFLEETS2 SEMSEEP cruise was funded by the European Union FP7 Programme under grant agreement n° 312762. The Swiss National Science Foundation grant Ref. 200021_175587 provided funding for shorebased investigations that made this research possible. The Fonds de recherche n° 609 of the University of Fribourg, the Helmsley Charitable Trust and Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research provided additional support for the cruise. Thanks to the Israeli Ministry of Infrastructure, Energy and Water for IOLR support, Yoni Esakow and Coral Group Ltd. for donating their in-port support, Paradigm for geophysical software sponsorship, the State of Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through their Embassy in Cyprus and the Embassy of Switzerland in Cyprus, for their dedicated backing. DB acknowledges Project MIUR – Dipartimenti di Eccellenza 2018–2022.
Funding Information:
We warmly thank the scientific and technical crew of the R/V AEGAEO who helped during sampling operations. The EUROFLEETS2 SEMSEEP cruise was funded by the European Union FP7 Programme under grant agreement n° 312762 . The Swiss National Science Foundation grant Ref. 200021_175587 provided funding for shorebased investigations that made this research possible. The Fonds de recherche n° 609 of the University of Fribourg, the Helmsley Charitable Trust and Charney School of Marine Sciences , University of Haifa, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research provided additional support for the cruise. Thanks to the Israeli Ministry of Infrastructure, Energy and Water for IOLR support , Yoni Esakow and Coral Group Ltd. for donating their in-port support, Paradigm for geophysical software sponsorship, the State of Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through their Embassy in Cyprus and the Embassy of Switzerland in Cyprus, for their dedicated backing. DB acknowledges Project MIUR – Dipartimenti di Eccellenza 2018–2022.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd
Keywords
- Bivalve
- Chemosynthesis
- Cold seep
- Eastern Mediterranean basin
- Gas emissions
- Lucinoma kazani
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oceanography